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Massachusetts Marijuana Regulator Says Prosecutor's Guidance Adds Clarity
![Head grower Mark Vlahos, of Milford, Mass., tends to cannabis plants, Thursday, July 12, 2018, at Sira Naturals medical marijuana cultivation facility, in Milford, Mass. (Steven Senne/AP)](https://wordpress.wbur.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/AP_18193725252304-1000x663.jpg)
Massachusetts' top marijuana regulator says U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling's most recent guidance on federal enforcement of marijuana laws should provide some "clarity" at a crucial time when the state is nearing the start of retail sales.
Cannabis Control Commission chairman Steven Hoffman is suggesting that Lelling's latest statement, issued Tuesday, marks a return of sorts to the principals of the Cole Memorandum. That's a reference to the U.S. Justice Department's 2013 guidance to states on non-interference with recreational marijuana laws.
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memorandum in January, prompting concerns of a federal crackdown on legal pot.
Lelling indicated in his statement that his office would likely limit its focus to enforcing laws against drug trafficking, illegal out-of-state distribution of marijuana and illegal sales to minors.